


Lupercalia

by wordsandwickedthings



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: History, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, harry would suit being a history teacher, think of the CORDUROY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22707292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsandwickedthings/pseuds/wordsandwickedthings
Summary: Harry is a fourth-grade history teacher preparing for Valentine's day, much to the confusion of Draco. The history of Valentine's day doesn't confuse Draco any less.But just because you don't know what a valentine is, doesn't mean you can't have one right?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Lupercalia

**Author's Note:**

> Lupercalia is an old roman festival that Valentine's day is thought to have come from. 
> 
> an honestly, it's probably way cooler. 
> 
> enjoy :)

“what the hell did you do to the living room?” 

Draco was gripping desperately at the cups of coffee in his hands, trying not to drop them from sheer shock. The living room floor was covered in red paper hearts and pink strings, and in the middle of the mess was his roommate, Harry potter – an extraordinary 4th-grade history teacher, who looked like he hadn’t slept at all. 

“Darling,” Draco drawled, trying to sound sarcastic, “if you were going to propose, you didn’t have to break out the ribbon.” 

Harry chuckled, “I didn’t have a ring.” 

The Blonde rolled his eyes, placing the larger sized mug next to the teacher’s knee, going to sit on the floor in front of him. 

“Do I even have to ask if you’ve slept?” he didn’t. 

Harry was gluing hearts to paper bags, “no.” 

“no to asking or no to sleeping?” Draco took a long sip from his coffee. 

“you worry too much, Draco,” Harry said with a smile. 

“if I don’t, who will.”

It sometimes dawned on Draco that this interaction – this life – was supposed to be weird. Back at Hogwarts, if you had told him he would end up here, in an enchanted flat in a muggle city, roommates with his former (sometimes it felt like current) nemesis, he would have laughed, or groaned dramatically about needing the dementor’s kiss in the instant.  
They weren’t at Hogwarts anymore, though, the war was over and done and left the scars it was going to, and the two boys had fallen into their living situation more by necessity than want. Both were freshly out of school and sick of the magical world and all it left in its wake, a shaky but confident friendship growing between the two. But unlike Draco, who kept one foot in the wizarding world, Harry left with no intention of going back. 

Draco didn’t blame him; the wizarding world owed their chosen one whatever he wanted, and he wanted to leave. 

the two had moved into a tiny old two-bedroom after Harry had finished university, though it had worked in both of their favors financially, Draco was starting to see the holes in their living arrangement. When Draco doesn’t hate Harry, he rather fancies him.

Harry didn’t look up from his arts and crafts when he said out of the blue, “It’s valentines’ day in a few days.” 

“Valen-what?” 

The ex-chosen one looked at his roommate like he had grown a second head, “Valentine's day?” Draco raised an eyebrow, “you know, love, candy, inflated importance.” 

The blonde thought for a moment, “nope, nothing.” 

“Seriously? It’s everywhere right now.” 

“Eh.” Draco shrugged, “I’ve been in Hogsmeade a lot lately.” 

Harry chucked a paper bag into a pile of identical paper bags, reaching for glitter. “well, the kids love it. It's basically an excuse to eat candy for them.” 

“Oh! Like that dress-up holiday, you told me about.” 

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes, smiling. And yes, sometimes Draco purposely forgot about stupid muggle holidays to see that stupid cute face Harry made when he had to remind him. 

“Halloween.” 

“Cool. I don’t really care.” 

Harry laughed between drinks of coffee, using his foot to kick Draco in the knee. 

“so, do you have a lesson planned for the valentine day.”

well,” the former chosen one said, “the origins of valentine’s day are a bit too… mature… for a bunch of 9-year olds.” 

Draco smiled, “Oh, I love mature, do tell.” 

Harry perked up, always ready to go off about muggle history, “well, some historians think it was adapted from the pagan ritual Lupercalia, which was a festival all about animal sacrifice and sex. So, if we were to celebrate properly, we’d be running around naked and killing goats.” 

“I’m into it.” 

The other boy rolled his eyes. “but the name is assumed to be adapted from saint valentine, who was executed by Claudius Gothicus, even though there’s more than one St. Valentine and conflicting notions on whether the roman saint we commonly associate with the holiday actually married people or not.” Harry waved his hands frantically. “And there’s a story of him tutoring a girl while in jail and writing her a letter signed ‘from your Valentine’. Then you know, was fucking murdered.” 

Draco resting his head in his hand, listening to his dork roommate ramble about things Draco didn’t know anything about with such enthusiasm it made the blonde want to learn.  
He didn’t know when Harry had gotten so into the history of muggles; maybe he just like stories, or maybe he just liked to know it wasn’t only their world that could be torn apart by wars. But the fascination had turned into a love affair. When the two boy’s friendship was first developing, Harry would run to the three broomsticks, where Draco had bartended when he left the Malfoy money, to tell him about whatever lesson he had learned that day. 

“so, it really should be ‘happy valentine’s day, let’s kill a priest.” Draco threw his arms in the air. 

The dark-haired boy bit his lip, “well, yeah, but I feel like the PTA would be a bit cross with me if I said that.”

“fuck ‘em, you need academic integrity.” 

“I think the kids and I are just going to stick to handing out Valentine's day cards and eating candy in class.” 

Draco’s brow furrowed, “why do you need cards?” 

“well, usually you give one to your valentine, but that teaches kids to be exclusionary.” Harry shrugged. 

“Okay,” the blonde drawled out, “I’m lost again.” 

“about being exclusionary?” 

“no, I thought valentine was like – some dead dude. Why is he your dead dude?” 

Harry tilted his face to the ceiling and groaned, “no, no. a valentine is like a significant other, or like someone you like. Someone you feel romantically towards.”

“oh.” Draco’s heart sped. 

“Yeah. But these kids are like 9 so putting romantic pressure on them is stupid and creepy so hence just candy and cards.” 

“Harry?” 

He wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t going to do it. 

“yeah.” 

He wasn’t going to - 

“will you – uh – will you be my valentine?” Draco couldn’t breathe. Wait, shit, he really wasn’t breathing. 

Harry was just watching him, his head tilted like a confused dog. The blonde took in a gasp of air. 

Draco was going to jump out the window. “sorry that was – I shouldn’t have said – I don’t want you to be – “ 

“yeah.” 

“huh?” 

“Yeah, ill be your valentine.”

**Author's Note:**

> fallow me on things! that'd be cool!  
> tumblr: ravenclawsarepunkrock/wordsandwickedthings  
> twitter: @Just_adrie  
> instagram: just.adrie


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